Just wondering if you guys would be interested in a christmas cookie recipe exchange? I look forward to baking cookies in the weeks ahead and I would love to share recipes. Kim

-- Anonymous, December 03, 2001

Answers

How'd you know I was getting ready to start the great cookie baking extravaganza tomorrow, Kim?! I want to get them done early this year, then I'll tuck them in the freezer in mixed batches and bring them out a bit at a time. What kinds are you planning to make?

Jessie wants to decorate the tree old fashioned this year, so we will be making gingerbread people first (from boxed gingerbread mix). I also want to make some soft gingersnaps. I found a recipe for the yellow cake mix cookies with coconut and nuts, so I will be trying those as well. Then, I'll get started on the standards that I make every year.

Aunt Shady's sour cream sugar cookies are always on the list; these are a soft, fat, cut-out cookie that we frost. Jessie likes to cut them in fancy shapes; I like to cut them out into circles and frost them white and try to tell everyone that they are supposed to be snowballs!! (I tell you, I'm efficient; efficient, I say!; not lazy!!) I'll also make my Mama's pinwheel cookies, a chocolate and vanilla spiral cookie.

Then, we'll make snickerdoodles, but roll them in red and green colored sugar instead of just plain cinnamon sugar. I'll make the old standard peanut butter cookies, but I like to put chocolate stars in the centers rather than kisses. I suppose that I'll have to make a batch of chocolate chippers as well as the brownie mix cookies they like so well, and soft oatmeal cookies too. If I get time, I'd like to make a batch of Danish Kringle...

Most of my cookies have to chill before baking, so I mix up several kinds of dough at once, then bake them as I have time. I'm lazy - errrr, I mean efficient! - so I start with the bland ones like snickerdoodles, sugar cookies and pinwheels, then go to oatmeal, chocolate chippers, and then peanut butter ones before washing the bowl. I use ziploc bags to measure out the sugars and the dry ingredients in, then set my eggs and butter on top of them, along with any special ingredients. That way, I can have a lot of it done before hand, then just dump stuff in the bowl and mix away!

-- Anonymous, December 03, 2001

It sounds yummy, Kim. But I'm wheat sensitive and have yet to find a substitute for wheat flour in making cookies. So I guess I'll have to pass. Everyone eat a cookie in my honor!

Julie makes great cookies, lots of fancy one in the past. Don't know if she'll be making any this year or not.

Our favorites when we were kids were "paintbrush cookies". They are a rolled sugar cookie, cut out in Christmas shapes -- Santas, reindeer, gingerbread men, camels, trees, stars, bells, and wreaths, and probably some I've forgotten. We would paint them with new, clean paint brushes, using colored egg yolks. You take an egg yolk, put it in a custard cup, all beat up with a tiny amount of water, and some food coloring. You can make red, yellow, and green. For blue, you need to use egg white (which is not as satisfactory to paint with but works okay). We never made purple or orange, but I suppose you could if you REALLY wanted them. After we painted the raw cookies, we would further decorate them with colored sugars, sprinkles, non- pareils (gold or silver BB's), red hots, etc. Then the cookies are baked. They're very colorful and fun to make and eat. A small amount of cardamon added to the dough is especially delicious! Mom always rolled and cut, and we would do the fun painting part. She was glad that we would do that, because it was way too much work for her to do on her own. Good memories!

-- Anonymous, December 03, 2001

Way back in the "Dark Ages", I bought myself one of those Mirro cookie press gadgets. Came with all the interchangeable shapes, etc. Has the handle that you crank...anyone have one of these? It also came with a little booklet of recipes. I've used this religiously every Christmas for my cookies. Hubby had to do a little repair work on the handle once (I broke it off!!), but it still makes great cookies. Several years ago I received an electric "Cookie Shooter" from my MIL...but still prefer my Mirro!!

-- Anonymous, December 04, 2001

Oh boy,Marcia's post just reminded me that I have been waiting for Christmas to make a post out of my famous episode, entitled "How I Set Fire To My Foot While Making Christmas Cookies". I'm gonna have to work on that one and post it soon.

I used to make up christmas cookie assortments every year, and counted on at least a dozen varieties (plus fudge, and other candy, whatever I felt like making). Some of the old standby's were Meringue Kisses (with nuts and cherries), Date Lebkuchen (made individually, decorated to look like miniature plum puddings!) , Pepperkakor (Swedish gingersnaps), Raspberry filled lemon/spice cookies, Spritzar (the culprit in setting my foot on fire),Diamond molasses cookies, Cardamon shortbread, Wasp's Nests (chocolate and almonds), Hazelnut & cinnamon filled cream-cheese dough crescents, Thumb Prints/Bird's Nests, to name a few. Then I'd make things like Cinnamon glazed Pecans, Peanut Brittle, Chocolate Rum Mocha fudge. I'd try and do a couple new things every year.

There was even the year of the Crunchy Frog Chocolates. Yes, I made them and put them in gift assortments. They looked wonderfully ghastly, because I made them out of softened caramels that I worked chopped pecans into (for a good 'boney' crunch. Well, they wouldn't be crunchy if you took the bones out, would they?), and then shaped them to look like small frogs in poses of trying to crawl out of the liquid chocolate that I dipped them into. Monty Python fans who received these selections still talk about them and it's been over ten years since I had that kind of time to waste.

I've found that it's usually easier to just give fruitcakes, provided that people don't chuck them back at your head, that is. Cookie selections are usually welcomed, but a lot more work.

I'd really like to get one of those Pizzelle (is that the right name?) electric irons for making those, but then the rest of the year I wonder what I'd do with it.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2001

last year for my cookie exchange I made something with chocolate chips in it. I can't remember! This year I am thinking about snickerdoodles or oatmeal lace cookies. I love my cookie exchange. last year was my first and we had such a great time gabbing and snacking and sipping coffee, tea, and mulled cider it was decided I had to do it again. So this year the guest list is 2 people more but will still be a marvelous time. On participant has been poring over magazines and cookbooks since September! She didn't even cook before last years exchange. Now she cooks all weekend for FUN???! Crazy lady. I try to be efficient too, Polly. Can't beat you though...whew what a gal! who could EVER call you lazy???

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2001

What great cookies you guys make. How about posting the recipes so we can all share them. I am afraid my cookie baking is not at all fancy and our favorite is just the old standard Peanut Blossoms. We cook on wood and these are pretty darn simple!

1 3/4 cup sifted flour (except I never bother to sift) 1 tsp. soda 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 Cup shortening 1/2 Cup peanut butter 1/2 Cup sugar (white) 1/2 Cup firmly packed brown sugar 1 egg 2 TBS. milk 1 tsp vanilla Candy Kisses

Sift flour, soad and salt. Cream shortening, peanut butter and sugars. Add egg, milk and vanilla, beat well. Blend in dry ingredients gradually; mix thoroughly. Shape by rounded teaspoons into little balls. Roll in sugar (I like to make colored sugar by mixing a couple drops of food colouring in white sugar) and place on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 F for 8 minutes. Remove cookies from oven, place candy kiss on top pressing until cookie cracks just a bit. Return to oven for 2-5 minutes.

I'd love to have some of your favourite recipes. Kim

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2001

Here is one that I eat until I am nearly sick but still can't stop! Oh the insanity! Secret Kiss Cookies: 1 cup butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, 1 3/4 cups flour, 1 cup finely chopped walnuts, 1 bag Hershey's kisses, powdered sugar

Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add flour and walnuts and beat until well blended. Refrigerate dough 1 to 2 hours or until firm enough to handle. Remove wrappers from candy. Heat oven 375 degrees F. Using approx 1 Tbsp of dough, shape dough around the candy and roll to make a ball. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake 10 - 12 minutes or until cookies are set but NOT browned. cool slightly and remove to a rack. While slightly warm, roll each cookie in the powdered sugar. Store in tightly covered container. Roll again in powdered sugar just before serving.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2001

Here is one that I do.......not really baking but oh my, does it taste good. Take a ritz type cracker and plaster it thick with peanut butter and then put another one on top to make a sandwich and then dunk in melted dipping chocolate, place on waxed paper to cool and set up and it is almost like a Reese's peanut butter cup. I use my tongs to swish it around and get it all coated.

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2001

C'mon Julie...I want to know how you set fire to your foot while making Christmas cookies??!!

-- Anonymous, December 05, 2001

Mama's Pinwheel Cookies

1 cup butter, soften

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 well beaten eggs

1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Sift dry ingredients together (not, I just mix 'em). Cream butter with sugar, blend in eggs and vanilla. Add dry ingredients to butter mixture, mix thoroughly. Divide dough in half. To one half; mix in 2 squares (2 oz.) melted unsweetened baking chocolate. Chill. Roll each half out between sheets of waxed paper; place chocloate sheet on top of vanilla. Roll up as for jelly roll. Chill. Slice and bake on greased or non-stick cookie sheet for 6 - 10 minutes.

I make a double batch of these - I make up 2 batches of dough and leave the first batch plain; then add 4 squares melted baking choclate to the 2nd batch of dough along with the butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla part - easier to blend. I also add acouple extra tablespoons of flour to the chocolate batch. I also like these soft rather than crisp; so I cut them thicker and bake them only until the vanilla part is light gold.

I've also made these with white chocolate and tinted half the dough red; but the family threw a fit so I slunk back to "the way they're s'posed to be!"

-- Anonymous, December 06, 2001

Ooooh Polly...I printed that recipe out! Thanks so much!!!!

-- Anonymous, December 07, 2001

I take it back!! I tried to bake them! AArrrrrggghhh! I was not meant for pinwheel cookies. They sounded so easy! Waaaaahhhhhhh.

-- Anonymous, December 11, 2001

Calm down Girl!! What happened? Trouble rolling them out? Rolling them together? Cutting? Baking? What?!? Guess about all you can do is come over next year and we'll bake them together! >^..^<

-- Anonymous, December 11, 2001

Okay, here's a recipe for one of my favourite christmas cookies. No baking!!!

Rum Balls

Prepare 1 cups vanilla wafer crumbs (like Nilla Wafers), rolled fine with a rolling pin, or put through a food processor.

Add

1 Cup finely chopped coconut or pecan meats (I prefer pecan)

1 cup confectioners sugar

2 Tablespoons cocoa powder (not the drink mix)

2 Tablespoons white corn syrup

1/2 cup rum, brandy, Cointreau or Whiskey (Bourbon or rye)

Mix well. Shape by teaspoonfuls into firm balls, rolling in your hands. Roll each in Confectioners Sugar, instant coffee, or dry cocoa (I think the confectioners sugar is best).

Store tightly covered, for at least a week to develop the best flavor. Makes about 50. (try not to snarf them all...)

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2001

I just realized that that last recipe was kind of ironic, when you consider what I said about setting fire to my foot and all. At least with the Rum Balls, it's a whole lot harder to do, unless you are drinking the rum and breathing on your foot, while....

Nevermind. I don't need to tempt fate.

Linzer Schnitten

Beat until light -- 2 eggs

Beat in gradually 1 1/2 cups white sugar

Melt and add 3/4 cup butter (I don't believe in Crisco or margarine for cookies, ever, but least of all at Christmas time! Bonafide, gilt- edged butter cookies, I always say, otherwise why bother?)

Sift together

3 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon powdered cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

Blend into the first mixture. Add grated rind and juice of 1 lemon.

Turn out on a floured board and knead until smooth and no longer sticky. Let stand at least 1 hour.

Roll out 1/2 inch thick. Cut in strips 1 1/2 x 10 inches long. Put on a cookie sheet. Mark a groove down the center of each strip with the handle of a wooden spoon. Fill the grooves with any kind of jelly you like (red currant or raspberry are tastiest, I think).

Bake at 375 F until light brown (about 15 minutes).

Meanwhile, beat together 1 egg and 3/4 cup white sugar.

Brush over the baked strips while they are hot from the oven (not on top of the jelly strip) and then cut the strips immediately into diagonal pieces. Cool before storing. Makes 40 or more.

-- Anonymous, December 12, 2001